Thesis: For his term as president of the United States, I believe that James Buchanan deserves the grade of a D for his presidency. After his term as president the country was definitely worse off. One may find this surprising because Buchanan actually had a great deal of experience before his term as president. Some examples include serving as a member of the House of Representatives in Pennsylvania, being a US senator and Representative, and being Secretary of the State. He did a bad job as president because some of his decisions provoked both the North and South which caused seven states to secede during his presidency. Even as secession was approaching Buchanan did nothing to try and stop it from happening.
Goals: It is evident in Buchanan's Inaugural Address that he had many goals he wished to accomplish during his presidency. One of his top priorities was maintaining the constitution and keeping the country free of corruption. Buchanan also believed that increasing the size of the navy was important because it "is at present inadequate to the protection of our vast tonnage afloat." This was defiantly accomplished because during the civil war the North used their navy to set up blockades in front of Southern ports. Another cause that was important to Buchanan was lowering tariffs. He did not think that more money should be collected from the people then what was needed to defray the cost of the country. What was also important to Buchanan while adjusting the tariffs was "to do as little injury as may have been practicable to our domestic manufactures, especially those necessary for the defense of the country." With expanding the navy and making tariffs to support manufacturers, it seems evident that Buchanan was aware that a war was likely to break out during his presidency.
Relationship with Congress: For the first part of Buchanan's presidency the House of Representatives and the Senate were a majority democrat. But for the second half of his presidency they were a majority republican. During all of Buchanan's presidency democrats were a majority in the senate. One issue that Buchanan and his congress did not completely agree on was Kansas. He urged congress to accept Kansas as a slave state by supporting the Lecompton Constitution but Stephen Douglas disagreed. This conflict of interest was solved by a compromise which ended with Kansas becoming a free state. Another area of disagreement between Buchanan and congress was about the conflict with Mexico. Buchanan wanted to send American troops to northern Mexico but congress was to busy worrying about the rebellion of John Brown. They also rejected a treaty made by Buchanan with Mexico. Throughout his entire presidency, Buchanan vetoed 7 bills and none of them were overrode.
Positive Outcome: There are not many events during Buchanan's presidency that were very positive but his idea to please everyone was a very noble cause. Buchanan had very mixed opinions during his presidency. Although he thought morally slavery was wrong, he also felt bound to the constitution to allow it. Buchanan thought positively of popular sovereignty and the state deciding its view on slavery. After the Dred Scott cause he tried to soothe the friction by appointing moderates into his cabinet. He thought this action would make all people happy.
Negative Outcome: The decision of Buchanan's presidency that had the most negative outcome was actually his decision to not do anything. For years there had been disagreements between the North and the South. A few causes of the war include the book Uncle Tom's Cabin, the acquisition of land westward and their annexation and abolitionists. All of these books, events, and people had been conflicts that lead up to the civil war but secession of southern states actually started during Buchanan's presidency. Although there was already friction, if he would have completely supported one side and used strong leadership Buchanan could have prevented or put off a civil war. Without a civil war the economy would not have had as many problems and countless lives could have been saved.
Influences: One of Buchanan's decisions that has had the greatest effect on the lives of people day is his decision to do nothing. If you look at it from an optimistic point of view there is no slavery today because of Buchanan. Since he would not pick a side to support or make disagreement stop, the Civil War happen. As a result of the North winning slavery was abolished and over African Americans got more rights. This is by far his greatest impact on the country today.
Conclusion: Therefore, the country was worse off after Buchanan's presidency. This is because of his negligence to stop conflict between the North and South. Towards the end of his presidency seven states seceded and a civil war broke out not soon after. Although this war was beneficial in ending slavery, it hindered the economy and took over 600,000 lives. Because of these negative results of Buchanan's presidency, he deserves the grade of a D.
James Buchanan
Born: April 23rd, 1791 near Mercersburg, PA
Died: June 1st, 1868
Political Party: Democrat
Term in Office: March 4th, 1857- March 3rd, 1861
Vice President: John C. Breckinridge
Thesis: For his term as president of the United States, I believe that James Buchanan deserves the grade of a D for his presidency. After his term as president the country was definitely worse off. One may find this surprising because Buchanan actually had a great deal of experience before his term as president. Some examples include serving as a member of the House of Representatives in Pennsylvania, being a US senator and Representative, and being Secretary of the State. He did a bad job as president because some of his decisions provoked both the North and South which caused seven states to secede during his presidency. Even as secession was approaching Buchanan did nothing to try and stop it from happening.
Goals: It is evident in Buchanan's Inaugural Address that he had many goals he wished to accomplish during his presidency. One of his top priorities was maintaining the constitution and keeping the country free of corruption. Buchanan also believed that increasing the size of the navy was important because it "is at present inadequate to the protection of our vast tonnage afloat." This was defiantly accomplished because during the civil war the North used their navy to set up blockades in front of Southern ports. Another cause that was important to Buchanan was lowering tariffs. He did not think that more money should be collected from the people then what was needed to defray the cost of the country. What was also important to Buchanan while adjusting the tariffs was "to do as little injury as may have been practicable to our domestic manufactures, especially those necessary for the defense of the country." With expanding the navy and making tariffs to support manufacturers, it seems evident that Buchanan was aware that a war was likely to break out during his presidency.
Relationship with Congress: For the first part of Buchanan's presidency the House of Representatives and the Senate were a majority democrat. But for the second half of his presidency they were a majority republican. During all of Buchanan's presidency democrats were a majority in the senate. One issue that Buchanan and his congress did not completely agree on was Kansas. He urged congress to accept Kansas as a slave state by supporting the Lecompton Constitution but Stephen Douglas disagreed. This conflict of interest was solved by a compromise which ended with Kansas becoming a free state. Another area of disagreement between Buchanan and congress was about the conflict with Mexico. Buchanan wanted to send American troops to northern Mexico but congress was to busy worrying about the rebellion of John Brown. They also rejected a treaty made by Buchanan with Mexico. Throughout his entire presidency, Buchanan vetoed 7 bills and none of them were overrode.
Positive Outcome: There are not many events during Buchanan's presidency that were very positive but his idea to please everyone was a very noble cause. Buchanan had very mixed opinions during his presidency. Although he thought morally slavery was wrong, he also felt bound to the constitution to allow it. Buchanan thought positively of popular sovereignty and the state deciding its view on slavery. After the Dred Scott cause he tried to soothe the friction by appointing moderates into his cabinet. He thought this action would make all people happy.
Negative Outcome: The decision of Buchanan's presidency that had the most negative outcome was actually his decision to not do anything. For years there had been disagreements between the North and the South. A few causes of the war include the book Uncle Tom's Cabin, the acquisition of land westward and their annexation and abolitionists. All of these books, events, and people had been conflicts that lead up to the civil war but secession of southern states actually started during Buchanan's presidency. Although there was already friction, if he would have completely supported one side and used strong leadership Buchanan could have prevented or put off a civil war. Without a civil war the economy would not have had as many problems and countless lives could have been saved.
Influences: One of Buchanan's decisions that has had the greatest effect on the lives of people day is his decision to do nothing. If you look at it from an optimistic point of view there is no slavery today because of Buchanan. Since he would not pick a side to support or make disagreement stop, the Civil War happen. As a result of the North winning slavery was abolished and over African Americans got more rights. This is by far his greatest impact on the country today.
Conclusion: Therefore, the country was worse off after Buchanan's presidency. This is because of his negligence to stop conflict between the North and South. Towards the end of his presidency seven states seceded and a civil war broke out not soon after. Although this war was beneficial in ending slavery, it hindered the economy and took over 600,000 lives. Because of these negative results of Buchanan's presidency, he deserves the grade of a D.
Sources:
15. "James Buchanan 1857-1861." The White House. 14 Mar. 2010.http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/presidents/jamesbuchanan
DeGregorio, William. The Complete Book of U.S. Presidents. Fort Lee: Barricade. 2005.
"James Buchanan." American Presidents: An Online Reference Resource. University of Virginia. Web. 14 Mar. 2010.
http://millercenter.org/academic/americanpresident/buchanan
"James Buchanan." American Presidents: Life Portraits. Web. 14 Mar. 2010.
http://www.americanpresidents.org/presidents/president.asp?PresidentNumber=15